The petrol price could decrease by more than 70 cents a litre and the wholesale price of diesel could fall by about 50 cents on 3 December, the Solidarity Research Institute (SRI) said on Tuesday (18 November).<\/p>\n
With the expected decrease, the price of petrol will be lower than it was a year ago. It will be the first time in five years that petrol is cheaper on an annual basis, the trade union said.<\/p>\n
It follows a 45 cents per litre cut on 5 November.<\/p>\n
Paul Joubert, senior economic researcher at the SRI, said that the weaker rand is counteracting a reduction in local fuel prices at present.<\/p>\n
He said the rand traded at an average of approximately R11.12 against the US dollar in October. So far, it has traded marginally weaker at an average of R11.14 during November.<\/p>\n
\u201cFortunately, international petroleum product prices, the other factor that determines local fuel prices, have so far continued to decline along with oil prices during the course of November,”\u00a0Joubert said.<\/p>\n
The price of Opec oil, which was $86.29 a barrel in October, has averaged nearly 10% lower at $77.67 a barrel in November so far, he added.<\/p>\n
The expected reduction would take the price of 93 octane petrol in Gauteng to approximately R12.28 a litre, which is below the price of R12.97 a litre that applied in December 2013.<\/p>\n
“In November 2009, petrol was R1.30 cheaper than in November 2008, but in the subsequent five years the price of petrol has consistently been higher than it was a year before,\u201d said Joubert.<\/p>\n
Joubert said the relevant period for calculating December\u2019s local fuel prices only ends on Thursday, 27 November.<\/p>\n
He indicated that, should the rand or oil prices experience large fluctuations between now and then, the fuel price adjustments in December could deviate significantly from this projection.<\/p>\n
The Department of Energy will announce the final fuel price changes on 28 November.<\/p>\n